Klopp comments on Luis Diaz injury scare and reveals brilliant three-word message to Liverpool star
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp eased the concern over a potential injury for Luis Diaz following his impressive debut in the FA Cup.
The Reds overcame a lacklustre first half to progress to the fifth round with a 3-1 win over Cardiff at Anfield on Sunday. While Diogo Jota opened the scoring with a header, Takumi Minamino got the second.
Youngster Harvey Elliott then stole the headlines by netting Liverpool’s third. He did so in his first appearance since September after recovering from a nasty ankle injury.
But Diaz, a January signing from Porto, also made his mark. He showed straight away he can fit into Klopp’s system, pressing to win the ball back from Cardiff and getting an assist for Minamino’s goal.
He also got an abrupt introduction to English football – as Klopp noted – after being accidentally stood on in a tackle, leaving a cut and a bruise on his knee.
Asked about Elliott’s goal, Klopp told ITV Sport after the match: “There were a lot of nice little stories during the game, but I think everyone agrees that all the other goals were important too.
“It was a tough game, we won it and it is all fine. It was a really good afternoon.
“Luis came on and it’s just a bruise now and a little cut. Everybody told him ‘welcome to England!’. There will be a scar at the end so he knows what he did in the first game.”
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However, Elliott stole the headlines after making a fantastic comeback from his injury. The 18-year-old suffered the ankle issue in the Premier League clash against Leeds United in September.
Nevertheless, Klopp praised the midfielder’s dedication – helped by the club’s medical staff – for his recovery.
“He was unlucky with the injury, but lucky with the whole process afterwards,” Klopp added. “Everything went really well, he and our medical department did an incredible job.
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“He was patient enough and desperate enough to come back. There are not a lot of great things with an injury like that, but when you are that young you deal with it better.
“From the first day he was on the way back. Now he is back and it’s really nice for him to get this goal. It was a really touching moment to be honest.”
Klopp hails Jota impact for Liverpool
Liverpool had struggled to create many clear-cut chances before Jota’s opener.
Indeed, the Portuguese opened the scoring from a Trent Alexander-Arnold set-piece with a well-placed header.
Klopp said when asked about why Jota has a good record in the air: “He jumps high and there’s good timing and he’s just a very skilled boy.
“He has a nose for these situations and is involved in all the things we do, so it was an important one.
“In these games you need an opener and that was an opener for us and it helped.”
Liverpool will subsequently face Norwich at Anfield in the fifth round.
